ROME (AP) — The number of chronically hungry people in the world is on the rise again after a decade of declines, the United Nations reported Friday, citing intensifying conflicts, floods and droughts.

In an annual report on the state of food security, the U.N. said 815 million people were chronically undernourished last year, 38 million more than the previous year. While the number is still below the 900 million hungry people registered in 2000, the U.N. warned that the increase "is cause for great concern."

Sixty percent of the world's chronically hungry people were in areas experiencing man...